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Cljrisl III tit 111: 

A S E R M O N 

PREACHED AT THE 

•CHURCH OF THE GOOD SAMARITAX/ 
SuxDAY, Sept. 1, 1872, 

(First Seemon at the BEGI^'^'I^*G of a Tempokaey Pastorship 

OF SAID ChFECH.) 

BY 

C. D. BEADLEE, 

LATE PASTOR OF THE " CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER." 

"'If any man thirst, let Mm come unto me. and drink."' 

St. Johx Yii. 37. 



B 0 S T 0 X : 
PRESS OP JOHX WILSON AND SOX. 
1872. 



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Cljrisl P in P: 

A SERMON 

PREACHED AT THE 

CHURCH OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN,' 
Sunday, Sept. 1, 1872, 

(First Ser:>ion at the Beginnixg of a Tempokaey Pastorship 
OF SAID Church.) 

BY 

C. D. BRADLEE, 

LATE PASTOR OF THE " CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER." 

" If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." 

St. JoH^" vii. 37, 



BOSTON: 
PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 
, 1872. 



^ 4. '^^ 



CAMBRIDGE : 
PRESS OF JOHX WILSON AXD SOX. 



CHEIST ALL ALL. 



" If ant man thikst, let him come unto me, and drink." — 
St. John vii. 37. 

In former days, the great question with all true men 
was. Will Christ accept us ? Now, the New School, the 
men who say that they are governed by intuition alone, 
exclaim, Shall we accept Christ? Once it was the great 
aim of all men to get their names written in the 
"Lamb's Book of Life." 

Now some are really in doubt as to whether they 
ought to insert the Lamb's name in their own book of 
life. I have no wish to put a brake upon the wheels of 
reformation. I have no desire to speak slightingly of 
intuition. I would not utter a word of ill-will towards 
any class of thinkers. Honest doubt should always be 
treated tenderly. Yet I cannot help thinking and stat- 
ing that the retreating of faith, at the present time, from 
the person with the authority of Christ to some stand- 
ard of the mind's own conceiving, betokens a decay 
somewhere of true religious vitality, whilst it is a main- 
road and the chief passage-way to a thorough scepticism. 



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I am well aware that some of the very best men are 
champions of the new light. Yet the great question is^ 
not what they are^ but what tvill their successors be? 
They are well enough^ for they are sweetened in their 
whole nature by the prestige of their early education : 
they have climbed to their great goodness by the ladder 
of faith ; and^ although they have upset the ladder, they 
have taken care not to do so until they have arrived at 
the top. iSTot so with their successors. They will have 
no early education to nourish them. They will have 
no ladder to climb. They are thrown back entirely 
upon themselves, just as their ancestors were previous 
to the blossoming of Christianity. I fear that they will 
have bleeding feet^ with crushed hearts. The doctrines 
of the Rationalistic School appear to me to afford but 
very little substantial nourishment. They are set forth, 
I allow, with a rhetoric that dazzles and burns, but 
which never reaches the true depths of the heart, and 
never stirs up heavenly echoes. We are thrown back 
by this school directly upon our own souls, that are 
really too weak to bear such a heavy strain. It is just 
as if you went to sea in a beautiful ship, and every thing 
seems to go wonderfully well. Good timbers, fine 
cabin, spacious deck, gentlemanly captain, intelligent 
sailors. Ah, you are very fortunate ! But by and by 
there comes a heavy storm, then your vessel is driving 
towards the rocks. You look for the only thing that 
will save you, a heavy anchor. It is gone. Nay, it 
was never put on board, because, forsooth, the builder 
thought you could get along well enough without an 
anchor. 



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The Jews started in just such a ship, and got stranded ; 
so also in a somewhat similar conyeyance the followers 
of Mahomet, with the heathens of old. They all 
dashed asrainst the breakers. I think it the dutv of 
every preacher, in these days of conflicting thought, 
occasionally to state emphatically where he stands. I 
do not suppose that in any congregation all will agree 
with the Pastor; but all will, I think, give him full liberty 
to cherish his convictions, whilst they will applaud his 
honest avowal of them. 

I frankly therefore confess to you this day, that I 
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, I believe also that 
those who look upon Him as a mere man, or as one hav- 
ing faults, should at once renounce His name, taking a 
title that will be more justly expressive of their faith. 
I believe that Jesus was specially commissioned to teach 
us about God, and that His words are with authority, 
I believe in the Divinity of His nature, and in the 
holiness of His precepts. I believe that He came 
down from heaven where He pre-existed, that He 
might teach the children of men. To me He is the 
Image of God, and the only Mediator between me 
and the Father. I believe that His main effort was 
and is for our salvation. 

I think that He meant a great deal, and that the invi- 
tation is fresh now, when He said, " If any man thirst, 
let him come unto me, and drink." Let our lesson then 
this morning be, our Master, all in all, the fountain of 
faith, the consecrator of discipline, and the bestower of 
victory. Look at the faith of Jesus : did it not yield 
refreshing waters ? He believed in Himself from the 



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time that He was twelve years old till the moment that 
His earthly body perished on the cross. It was a 
faith that never blossomed into presumption^ and never 
faded into idolatry. He always knew how far to go, 
and when to stop. He always recognized His own 
prerogatives, and God's as well. He ever^ by the 
depth of His serenity^ and by the intensity of His 
courage, sent a deep awe, even upon the hearts of His 
bitter enemies. 

Oh, then, let us, like Him, have a proper faith in our- 
selves ! This is a preliminary necessity to all greatness 
and all goodness. Only believe that you can be what 
God thinks you ought to be, then you will have half 
gained your true character. A lofty conception, a 
devout resolve, and a sweet-scented aspiration are the 
earlv morning streaks of li^ht that strike athwart the 
heavens, which prophesy the on-coming noon-day 
splendor. Oh, watch them as they come ! oh, hasten 
them, on I and let the regal glory bathe with its spiritual 
richness your perfected life. Again, Christ had faith 
in the office that He was ordained to fill. He knew 
that it was just the place for His hands and His heart. 
No matter how dark some of the days were that He 
spent. He had no desire to step out of His position, 
and no wish to relinquish His grand undertaking. So 
He teaches us to make duty sweet, hardship a serene 
pleasure, and our ordained lot a splendid benedic- 
tion. 

Once more, Christ had faith in God. He knew 
that He would never be forsaken by the Ruler of the 
Universe. He always saw His Father at the helm. 



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Only at one second in His experience did He ap- 
parently waver, crying, My God, my God, why hast 
Thou forsaken me ? " but very soon exclaimed, ^' Into 
Thy hands I commit my spirit." So are vve to look to 
God, with an unshaken trust. So are we always to 
repose under the soothing thought of His benignant 
mercy, under the kindling conception of His close 
companionship, and under the august confession of His 
unlimited power. Heavenward we should often gaze, 
and thus should the human heart get its calm and its 
glory. Our Lord was also the consecrator of disci- 
pline. Run your eyes through His experience, and see 
how in every bitter hour He vvove golden threads that 
entwined His own heart with God's. He is never at a 
loss w^hat to say or v\'hat to do. Temptation melts into 
a thin vapor, as it strives to clasp His will. Pain be- 
comes a wand set in heavenly diamonds, as it strikes 
His earthly frame. Death, like a coward, shrinks into 
life, as it strives to make Him a victim. He seems to 
make every thing subserve to the glory of God, whilst 
all events with Him are but so many steps that lead to 
the Eternal Throne. Thus should we strive to conse- 
crate our discipline. 

May our temptations in like manner dissolve into 
mist. May our pains and sorrows also reveal the golden 
side. May we make every experience that greets us 
but the opening of the gate that leads into the City of 
the New Jerusalem. Oh, how interlined this life of 
ours with lights and shades ! Hovv it sparkles at times ! 
then again how the shadows creep on ! Oh, its tangled 
thickets, and as well its rich orchards ! Oh, its spacious 



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valleys, and as well its rugged mountains ! Oh, its deserts 
of Sahara^ or its gardens of Paradise ! How shall we 
understand the mixture ? How shall we tear away the 
veil? Only as we breathe the spirit of Jesus. Only 
as we gently take His hand. Brethren, every thing- 
depends upon the way in which we interpret this rush- 
ing time. Do we marshal events under the clear 
light of Eternal Wisdom ? or, like poor, sickly cowards, 
do we tessellate them together under the sombre light 
of our morbid sensitiveness, and under the wretched 
logic of our demented self-will? Do we spell out 
their promise, reading off their spiritual power ? or 
do we, with our dyspeptic souls, make them reveal 
only their ugly visage, offering to us simply their stern 
greeting ? Are they received with a beautiful patience, 
with a sublime courage, and with a throbbing piety ? 
or with an unreasoning petulance, with a palsied timid- 
ity, and with a sceptical sneer ? Do w^e say to events, 
God bless you? or God curse you9 

Once more Christ is the bestower of victory. In 
His own life He exemplifies it, whilst He makes it 
plain in oui' experience if we are faithful. He over- 
came ; so now He reigns evermore, the Head of the 
Church, and the appointed Judge of the world. He 
rose and He ascended, then He was placed at the right 
hand of God. There was a little darkness, then came 
triumphant light. 

A few years He seemed to be enveloped with trials, 
then came the eternal coronation. So, dearly beloved, 
is His life somehow a model for oui's. Learn of Him 
that fidelity must some time have its fruitage in blessed- 



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ness. Every good soul will get its crown some day, 
however dark the present. Earthly restrictions or 
abasements amount to nothing. God can, with one 
word^ svveep them all into oblivion. Though the prairie 
rose blush unseen in a desert place, God can and God 
will find it : then He will make knovrn its beauty. Oh, 
be joyful, because you know that victory is written over 
every earnest prayer, is clasped round every stern en- 
durance, and encircles every noble deed ! Perhaps 
not to-day^ perhaps not to-morroic ; hut at some time the 
glory miLst come, 

^•If any man thirst." Thirst! Why^ ive are all 
thirsty, We are continually parched in our minds 
and in our souls. Yv^e cry out for light, strength, 
and peace, but Xature cannot afford us much help. 
It is not large enough, nor rich enough ; above all, 
it is voiceless. Intellect is not massive enou2:h to an- 
swer the heart's deepest yearnings. Nothing merely 
earthly will give us what we want. 0 God, bathe 
us in the living waters ! Blessed mystery, unceasing 
goodness of the beneficent Father, we are not plead- 
ing in vain. Nay, before we speak, before we even 
are conscious of the want, a voice, like that of old 
\vhich called Samuel, speaks our name, whilst a heart 
is waiting on which we may rest. 

Are you students, searching for light, with tumult 
at the soul? I hope so; I pray so. Are you asking 
what is life ? why am I here ? what must I do ? where 
am I drifting? God grant it may be so; for out of 
the heavens issues the glorious invitation, Come 
unto me, and drink." Go with a sweet, confiding 



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love to this Teaclier. Go without a vestige of a doubt. 
Turn youi' soul inside out to His gracious search. 
Then shall you be answered, then shall you be cheered, 
then shall you be cleansed, and then shall you be 
crowned. 

How go ? Why, just as a child goes to a father, — 
just as any obliged person goes to a benefactor, — hum- 
bly, gratefully, and joyously. 

In order to become Christ-like, you are not obliged 
to give up being man-like. No, the better you be- 
come, the more thoroughly will you develop your 
manhood. Standing at the side of your Master, and 
pressing His hand, you will become a nobler husband, 
a kinder wife, a holier parent, a more devoted child, 
a more trustworthy brother or sister, a more pleasant 
neighbor, and a more loyal citizen. Perhaps, however, 
some will yet say, notwithstanding what has been ad- 
vanced, that they believe in self-management, that they 
can be their own deliverers, and that they desu'e and 
need no Christ. Our own right arm is enough, they 
say : our own brave will shall suffice. 

Seriously, my friends, do you believe that ? Do you 
know of any one, since Adam took his first breath, 
that has stood up alone ? Has not all personal strength 
been shattered ? Are you only, of all the human beings 
ever created, to be the exceptional cases ? 

Then, again, may not your right arm be shattered by 
disease, and may not your adamant will fly to the four 
corners of the world, impelled by the antics of insanity ? 
You may tell me, perhaps, that if you were sure of the 
claims of Christ, you would gladly follow Him. Well, 



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find a better Guide than our Lord, if you can. If vou 
do not at present know of any better one, follow Him, 
the Lord, until the better one appears^ Or you may 
tell me that you haye serious doubts about a future 
existence. You say, therefore, that, so far as this 
world is concerned, you feel at liberty to follow the 
light of your own eyes. I beg leave to differ Avith 
you. 

Let it be, for the sake of argument, that there is no 
other life. Call the graye the end. Yet quite as 
much, nay^ all the more^ do you need the precepts 
of Jesus Christ, that you may be saved from shame, 
and that you may be kept from despair. Let every 
thing go that Jesus says about the celestial kingdom, 
if you must, then manage your life only by those 
teachings that are adapted for the present hour, and 
you will splendidly illuminate even the short term 
of your earthly breath, and you will cause the pulsa- 
tions of time to scintillate with glory. There is every 
reason, therefore, why you should take Jesus Christ 
for a Leader and Saviour, whilst every excuse ofered 
for your reluctance so to do scatters to dust the mo- 
ment it is sifted by the logic of right and righteous- 
ness. Will you not, then, seek refreshment at this 
great Fountain ? God is waiting for each one of you 
to say, Yes, I icilL 

Such have seemed to me thoughts worthy of expres- 
sion on this first Sunday of our temporary, and perhaps 
lasting, communion, under the agreed fellowship of 
pastor and people. I would not come to you even for 
a few weeks or months without defiming my position, 



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showing my Christian flag, disclosing my Leader, and 
making it clearly understood where I stand in the 
ranks of the Church. 

I am not ashamed of Jesus Christ. He is my all in 
all : my Leader, my Judge, Eedeemer, and Immanuel. 
Blessed be His holy name. Would that I were more 
worthy of His beautiful companionship, and in more 
strict affiliation with his blessed precepts. So, for you 
all, I pray that you may grow more like Him, our 
Lord. Let us each and all hold His outstretched 
hand ; let us each and all lean upon His gracious 
heart ; let us each and all obey every utterance of 
his splendid voice, and at last may all in this Church 
be led by Him to God, and introduced under the 
grand proclamation that nestles so sweetly in the 
prayer of the Son of God, Father, I will that they 
also, whom Thou hast given me, be with me where 
I am, that they may behold my glory, which Thou 
hast given me : for Thou lovedst me before the 
foundation of the world." 

Oh, may each of our souls utter the prayer of the 
poet whose name is unknown, but whose heart beats 
in time and tune with our hearts ! for he exclaims, — 

Sliex^lierd of souls, refresh and bless 

Thy chosen pilgrim flock, 
With manna from the wilderness, 

With water from the rock. 

We would not live bv bread alone, 

But by Thv word of grace. 
In strength of wliich we travel on 

To our abiding place. 



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Be known to iis in breaking bread 

But do not then depart — 
Savioiir, abide with us. and spread 

Thy table in our heart. 

" Then sup with us in love divine ; 
Thv body and Thv blood — 
That hving bread and heavenly wine — 
Be our immortal food.'^ 



Note. — Air. Bradlee has been engaged to supply the pulpit of the 
" Church of the Good Samaritan/''' from September 1st, 1872, to 
April Ist, 1873 : and, should it be found feasible, the worsliippers in 
the " Church of the Good Samaritan," and those who formerly at- 
tended the " Church of the Redeemer/* will form together one inde- 
pendent society, under the pastorship of ^Ir. Bradlee. 



Cambridge : Press of John Wilson and Son. 



